According to a recent email newsletter, Waterloo Records will be "exiting the video rental business", and will be closing their Waterloo Video store in mid-August. But it's not all doom and gloom--they'll also be remodeling the Waterloo Records space this summer in order to make room for all the displaced non-rental DVDs, and all current Waterloo Video employees have been offered positions at the remodeled store to "[assure] the continuity of [Waterloo's] renown personalized video customer service." But the even better news can be summed up in one unnecessarily capitalized word: SSAALLEE!...

SXSW Film Passes went on sale at Waterloo Video this weekend. At $70 a pop, they're a nice alternative if the film badges are a bit too costly for your liking. These will get you into just about every one of the 113 feature films being screened in March, after all badge holders have procured their seat. Call ahead (512-474-2525) to make sure they're still available -- these will invariably sell out, so act......

R. Kelly, also known as the Pied Piper of R & B (wait, didn't the Pied Piper play a magical flute that compelled children to follow him en masse? Is this really a prudent honorific for someone still facing child pornography charges?) has just released the third installment of his "hip-hopera" Trapped in the Closet. Most of you Internets-savvy young folk are, no doubt, already conversant with Trapped in the Closet's randomly overwrought narrative arc......

We have a confesstion to make: We are not expert gift-wrappers. We can admit it; it's cool. While we have always thought that there was a bit of charm in our mishmash newspaper and (visible) Scotch tape wrap jobs, the truth of the matter is, our friends and family were probably just being kind as they gave an obligatory chuckle upon viewing our shabbily-wrapped tidings. Furthermore, if you’re giving said shambles to certain adorable......

SXSW Film Passes went on sale at 10am this morning (sorry for the half-hour delay) at Waterloo Video only. The $65 passes get you into all 230 features and shorts being shown all around town, including the Drafthouse Downtown, Austin Convention Center, The Paramount and the Dobie. Get yours today!......